Catholic Nutshell News: Saturday 7/18/26
Catholics should know: Colorado goes after religious liberty; Catholic Charities gives free masks in Twin Cities; Ideology wrong lens for understanding China; & Why are you Catholic?
“We see through new tender verdant pecan leaves”
Your 5-minute Catholic briefing for busy faithful. Today's sources: National Catholic Register, EWTN News, The Pillar, Crux, First Things, OSV News, & Aleteia. (Catholic Nutshell is a FREE subscription service for faithful, hopeful, & curious Catholics willing to exercise their Catholic News Muscle)
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National Catholic Register
Colorado goes after religious liberty in ‘St. Mary v. Roy’
By Andrea M. Picciotti-Bayer, July 17, 2026
At the heart of St. Mary v. Roy, which the Supreme Court has agreed to review, is the question: May Colorado exclude Catholic preschools from its Universal Preschool Program — a publicly funded benefit available to virtually every other provider in the state — simply because those schools operate in accordance with their faith? Colorado’s program promises 15 hours of free weekly preschool to every family. But to participate, private schools must agree to enroll children regardless of “sexual orientation” or “gender identity” of the child or family — a condition the Archdiocese of Denver cannot accept without violating its own carefully developed guidance on human sexuality, rooted in the Church’s understanding of the human person. The result is that Catholic preschools are shut out of a program funded by the same taxes Catholic parents pay.
EWTN News
Catholic Charities distributes thousands of masks in Twin Cities
By Daniel Payne, July 17, 2026
Catholic Charities workers in Minnesota distributed thousands of masks to vulnerable residents this week amid widespread smoke from raging wildfires in both Minnesota and Canada. Data from the Canadian government show more than 120 “out of control” fires burning across the country, with a large portion concentrated north of Minnesota in Ontario. The Minnesota government, meanwhile, issued an emergency declaration this week as wildfires spread across northern Minnesota. State Gov. Tim Walz said the fires “are posing an increasing threat to lives, property, and our wilderness.” On its Facebook page, Catholic Charities Twin Cities — which serves the Minneapolis-St. Paul region — said it was distributing N95 face masks at its Saint Paul Opportunity Center. The center was also offering water, meals, showers, and refuge from the ongoing heat wave.
Aleteia
Why are you Catholic?
By Father Dave Mercer, July 18, 2026
Catholics grow up learning the seven sacraments, the Our Father, and other prayers and responses for Mass. However, we rarely learn to answer the question, “Why are you a Catholic?” When you tell someone why you’re Catholic as a story — even as a 30-second “elevator story” — it can land in your friend’s heart forever. The advice of the Apostle Peter to the earliest Christians: “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope.” (1 Peter 3:15) What’s your story of a struggle, being inspired, receiving advice, and following it to a deeper faith in Jesus Christ that has transformed your life? Tell that story, and it will stay in your listener’s heart. Consider a turning point that took you into a deeper relationship with Jesus, or when your Catholic faith took on greater meaning. You might ask your priest, a trusted parishioner, or others at your prayer group. You can even ask an A.I. assistant to review your story and suggest ways to make it clearer. You’ll then have a story to share when asked, “Why are you a Catholic?”
The Pillar
The strategy behind diocesan vocational success
By Jack Figge, July 17, 2026
Experts cite a number of factors behind a trend of smaller U.S. ordination classes than in prior decades, including the 2018 abuse scandals in the Church, the Covid pandemic, a rise in secularism, the proliferation of pornography, and the breakdown in family life. But some dioceses have seen steady or even growing numbers of priestly vocations. Bishops who spoke with The Pillar said they believe smaller, rural dioceses are often fertile ground for vocations because of the simple lifestyle and embrace of religion that is often part of the community. The Diocese of Wichita, home to 116,000 Catholics, has a thriving vocations program. Six men were ordained priests this year, and 19 are slated to begin seminary this fall. “We pride ourselves in that our seminarians almost exclusively are homegrown,” Wichita Bishop Carl Kemme told The Pillar. “They know our culture, they know who we are, and they’re fruits of our culture.”
OSV News
Catholic leaders’ US tour highlights impact of grassroots ministries
By Simone Orendain, July 17, 2026
A small delegation from the Vatican-supported World Meeting of Popular Movements has completed its visit to cities across the U.S., where members said they were struck by the love and compassion people showed for one another. Three Church leaders from Peru and Italy arrived in the U.S. on June 20 and met with communities in Los Angeles, Seattle, Denver, Houston, Pittsburgh, and elsewhere. Father Mattia Ferrari of the Archdiocese of Modena-Nonantola called the tour inspiring and said he was surprised as well. “To see a Church in a so deeply moving way alongside those who suffer — this is a strong witness of love,” he said. Luca Casarini said he was also taking note of how the community groups “self-organize,” observing how they came together on projects “for a new world, a new town, a new neighborhood.” César Piscoya, a Peruvian theologian, said everyone — including himself, Father Ferrari, and Casari — should continue to turn to God for help, “always trusting and praying, so that the Lord continues to act with small but significant gestures and actions that change lives.”
Zeale
Political terrorism is ‘driven by a hatred for civilization itself’
By McKenna Snow, July 17, 2026
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke out against the surge in far-left terrorism that is claiming victims around the world and called on those present to work with the U.S. in bringing down the perpetrators. According to Rubio, 93% of terrorist attacks in the West between 1970 and 1980 were from the far left. Speaking to the coalition of political leaders, law enforcement officials, and subject matter experts from more than 60 countries, Rubio emphasized that far-left political terrorism is not a fictional invention of conservative politicians. He recalled several historical instances of far-left political terrorism throughout the modern era, citing “the violent terror of the Tupamaros, the Montoneros, FARC, the ELN,” as well as the Maoist terrorists who murdered pregnant women and newborn children in Peru and the “tens of thousands of Marxist guerillas trained to kill in Castro’s Cuban terrorist camps.”
PME AsiaNews
Riyadh pardons 2,000 Ethiopians - hundreds still on death row
By Dario Salvi, July 16, 2026
The Saudi authorities have granted a royal amnesty to 2,000 Ethiopian prisoners who have been held in the country’s jails for some time. Ethiopian officials have already begun repatriating 1,971 compatriots who had been imprisoned. However, many Ethiopian migrants remain detained on death row. Detainees, some contacted by Middle East Eye (MME), provided their testimonies. They were often arrested on minor drug charges for possession of khat, a mild stimulant commonly used throughout East Africa but illegal in Saudi Arabia. The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that “constant diplomatic and consular efforts” have led to the granting of royal pardons. Those on death row in Saudi prisons include hundreds of migrants languishing in the Khamis Mushait detention center, in the south-west of the kingdom. Saudi authorities carried out a hundred death sentences, usually by sword, since the start of the year. At least 61 were for drug-related offenses.
CRUX
Investigation into the murder of Ann Widdecombe
By Fionn Shiner, July 14, 2026
Counter-terrorism police in the U.K. have announced they are taking over the investigation into the murder of Ann Widdecombe, a British politician and Catholic convert, killed last week. Police initially downplayed suggestions that the murder of the prominent 78-year-old pro-life Catholic figure had political or terror motives. Last Friday, it was announced that Widdecombe, 78, had died, and later that day, the Devon and Cornwall police said that they had opened a murder investigation. She was found dead on Thursday morning, having sustained serious injuries. On Saturday, a 28-year-old man described as “white British” from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, was arrested on suspicion of murder. That same man has been re-arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation, or instigation of acts of terrorism, and he continues to be questioned by police investigators.
Keep informed - 7/18/26 matters for Catholics:
Snippets: EWTN News, aciafrica, & Word on Fire
EWTN News
EWTN’s top headlines — July 18, 2026
EWTN News provides reliable, free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Universal Church, with updates on the Holy Father's words and the Holy See.
World Cup: Ahead of final, bishop warns against making sports an idol - By Nicolás de Cárdenas - José Ignacio Munilla pointed out that “precisely because soccer stirs the human heart so deeply, it also becomes a magnificent mirror of our contradictions. For enjoying the sport is one thing, but turning it into a religion is something else entirely.”
Ahead of beatification, Bishop Barron reflects on Fulton Sheen’s legacy - By Katherine Matt - While technology has made it easier than ever for individuals to become online personalities, Barron said authentic evangelization requires much more than a social media platform or podcast. According to Barron, Sheenʼs extraordinary effectiveness in radio and television ministry was rooted in decades of intellectual, spiritual, and pastoral formation.
How papal prayer intentions are chosen, according to the head of Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network - By Tessa Gervasini - While Pope Leo “has an endless list” of prayer intentions, the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network helps him choose 12 to offer each month of the year, according to Father Cristóbal Fones, SJ.
aciafrica
aciafrica’s top headlines — July 18, 2026
ACI Africa was founded in 2019 to provide free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Catholic Church in Africa, with particular emphasis on the words of the Holy Father and the activities of the Holy See.
Catholic Priest Calls for Prayer, Spiritual Reparation after Parish in DR Congo Desecrated - Jul 18, 2026 - St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus Niangara Parish of the Catholic Diocese of Isiro-Niangara in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was desecrated during the night of July 14.
SIGNIS Africa President Upbeat about First-Ever World Congress in Africa - Jul 17, 2026 - The President of SIGNIS Africa and Chairperson of the African Organizing Committee for the SIGNIS World Congress has expressed readiness to welcome participants from across the globe.
“We should not fight over religion”: Nigerian Catholic Archbishop Calls for Christian-Muslim Unity - Jul 17, 2026 - Archbishop Gabriel Leke Abegunrin of Nigeria’s Catholic Archdiocese of Ibadan has urged citizens to reject religious violence and strengthen Christian-Muslim relations.
Word on Fire
Fresh insights from the Word on Fire Institute - July 18, 2026
Word on Fire reaches millions every year by effectively sharing the Gospel via podcasts, videos, books, articles, Scripture studies, and Gospel meditations.
Caravaggio: Sacred Art, Profane Life - Matthew Malone - Never has there been another artist who embodied such extremes—fugitive, street brawler, hedonist, and murderer—and yet created the most intense, sublime, and transcendent images in Catholic history.
‘Magnifica Humanitas’ and the Just War Theory - Henry T. Edmondson III - The section of the encyclical that is proving controversial, however, is Pope Leo’s assertion that the just war theory (JWT) is outdated. His position is ironic, given that St. Augustine (354–430) is the progenitor of just war theory, and that Pope Leo XIV is an Augustinian.
Beyond Our Limited Vision: Life, Love, and Perspective in ‘Silas Marner’ - Lindsay Schlegel - George Eliot (pen name of Mary Ann Evans) wrote the classic novel Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe, which eschews the spiritual element here while retaining the morality. The story’s observations on isolation and community, wealth and poverty, pack a punch for readers even 165 years after its publication.
July 18, 2026 - USCCB Daily Mass Readings
You can listen HERE — or read HERE:
Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s Catholic commentary:
National Catholic Register
Podcast hosted by nuns took over the Internet
By Gemma Flores, July 12, 2026
The social media trend this summer looks a little different from years past. Rather than a focus on swimsuit-ready bodies or the latest dance craze, summer 2026 has been dubbed “Nun Girl Summer” by Cosmopolitan magazine — thanks to the viral Dominican Sisters Open Mic podcast. The podcast, operated by Openlight Media, an apostolate run by the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, has now amassed more than 250,000 followers and 7 million “likes” on TikTok. The New York Times reported in March that the podcast had seen a 3,500% uptick in listeners since February 2026. “We restarted it, really, just to have authentic conversations between two sisters and to show the joy of living the religious life, a life dedicated to Jesus Christ,” Dominican Sister John Dominic Rasmussen, the executive director of Openlight Media, told the Register.
First Things
Liberalism collapsed for failure to manage technological change
By Nathan Pinkoski, July 17, 2025
The Information State is one of the most important books of the twenty-first century. In a virtuoso performance, Jacob Siegel harmonizes political theory, investigative journalism, and contemporary history to demonstrate how Americans are now governed. The American model was supposed to be a form of liberalism in which an independent civil society limits the power of the state while restraining its own ambitions to greater control. Siegel is not the first to argue that this model has ended. But unlike the academic postliberals of the left and right, Siegel does not suggest that liberalism collapsed under its philosophical or cultural contradictions. Rather, liberalism collapsed in the wake of its failure to manage technological change.
The European Conservative
Ideology is the wrong lens for understanding China
By Joaquim Sá Couto, July 16, 2026
If the ideological categories inherited from the twentieth century fully explained political and economic outcomes, China’s trajectory would be difficult to understand. The contradiction is usually resolved by forcing China into familiar categories. Admirers describe China as proof that socialism works. Critics insist it is capitalist in all but name. Others call it state capitalism, authoritarian capitalism, or market socialism. Each label captures part of reality, yet none adequately explains why China has consistently outperformed expectations for nearly half a century. Modern institutional economics has repeatedly shown that stable rules and credible long-term expectations encourage investment and innovation regardless of the ideological character of the state. Yet stability alone has never been enough. Much of China’s economic dynamism has emerged from competition among provinces, municipalities, and development zones.
The Catholic Thing
History, as it really happened, is inconvenient baggage
By Francis X. Maier, July 17, 2026
Americans don’t suffer from amnesia. We prefer it. Memory shapes who we are as individuals, a nation, and a culture. But we define ourselves as a “new order of ages.” Those words are stamped directly on America’s Great Seal. Thus, Americans dislike the past. And since the 1960s, Europeans have followed suit. The reason is simple. History as it really happened is inconvenient baggage. We ignore or reinvent it, the better to reinvent ourselves. And this is exactly how the modern spirit (see here and here) treats our civilization’s Christian roots. An important “Someone” once said, “Do this in memory of me.” (Luke 22:19) Remembering God’s Son, who we are as his people, our pilgrimage through history, and our missionary vocation: Such is our mandate and glory. We’re part of something larger and more beautiful than ourselves, our sins, and our times. And the task of remembering that is sacred.
Image of Coconut by Celio Nicoli from Pixabay
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